Prevalence of enamel defects in 12-15-year-old children visiting a tertiary care center - A cross-sectional study

Research on the frequency and contributing factors of enamel developmental abnormalities in children in Kerala is scarce. Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of enamel defects among 12-15-year-old children in outpatients visiting Government Dental College, Kozhikode, and to correlate their association with prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal factors.

A hospital-based cross-sectional survey among 1110 children aged 12-15 years by a single examiner. Subjects and Methods: Enamel defects and dental caries were recorded using the Modified developmental defects of enamel (DDE) Index and Decayed, Missed, and Filled teeth Index, respectively. The parents of the children were interviewed with a validated structured questionnaire.

The data analysis was performed using SPSS software 25.0, which included descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and unpaired t-test.

The overall prevalence of DDE was found to be 20.7%, with a significantly higher frequency among male and urban participants. The types of defects were demarcated opacity (9.9%), hypoplastic (4.8%), diffuse (3.1%), demarcated and diffuse (1.4%), demarcated and hypoplastic type (0.8%), diffuse and hypoplastic (0.5%), and the combination of all (0.3%). The association between DDE and the maternal age, low birth weight, premature birth, childhood illness, systemic infection, and traumatic infection to a predecessor was significant.

There are observable developmental enamel defects in Kerala's Kozhikode region. Several factors were revealed to be strongly linked with those anomalies.